Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Maduro

Binder: Ecuadorian Habano

Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican

Size: 5 x 50  “Robusto”

Body: Medium/Full

Price: $6.00

I just did a review of the Torano Salutem and remembered that the cigar was released alongside the Master Habano Maduro at the 2012 IPCPR trade show. And I’ve had the Master Maduros in my humidor for months without touching them. Seems like a good time to try them.

I found a press release from the Torano camp:

“Julian Sosa, who is a true artisan, is passionate about the Master line, which carries his image on the boxes. Sosa approached Charlie Torano about experimenting with a Habano Maduro wrapper that would create a new cigar worthy of the Master name. After tinkering with the blend using the Habano Maduro wrapper (a dark rich wrapper grown in Nicaragua), Charlie and Julian found this cigar to be medium in strength and full of flavor.”

This cigar’s construction and appearance are gorgeous. The Habano wrapper is like an oily coffee bean. And very close to being black. The oils are just oozing from the cigar which is not what it looked like when I bought them. A few veins here and there. Seams are tight. And just the right amount of give to the stick.

I sniff it and detect deep, rich coffee and cocoa. And that’s about it. 6 months, or more, of aging have mellowed it out some.

I clip and light up…A sweet flavor arrives instantly. Oak. And then I am washed with red pepper. The cocoa pops up without ceremony and uses the oak and sweetness to accentuate the immediate richness. I love it when I dig around and find a stick, long forgotten, in my humidor. It seems that only then, am I getting the blender’s intent and tasting his expectations.

Cocoa and spiciness and wood seem to lead the charge. Smoke is pouring from the foot and I should get some good photos. Sometimes I get a good cigar but it won’t smoke properly to save my life. Not a single good smoke emanating from the stick photo. Darn.

The char line is erratic and I am forced to correct it at the 1” mark.

As I leave the first third, there is nothing in this cigar that surprises me. It is a good representation of a mostly Nicaraguan cigar. We have cocoa and espresso and wood, some cedar, and I expect that we shall taste creaminess by the halfway point. But nothing remarkable. I think most of us spend $6 on a cigar that we hope will be rested quickly and ready to smoke soon after purchase. I remember smoking one when I first bought them and they had zip in the character department. Now, 6 months later, they are very, very flavorful.  The best part of this cigar is that I am getting endless good shots of smoke emitting from the foot.

The char line is cool now. The flavors are coalescing and forming a unit. So there is complexity formed by a decent amount of rest in my humidor. The cocoa is really on overdrive. And now, at the halfway point..as predicted, comes the creaminess. The red pepper is mild and makes a nice back drop for the other flavors.

My palate is not good enough to taste floral notes. I’ve read about them but never tasted them. Here is my first cigar where that occurs. Notify the Press.

Floral is hard to describe as it is my first time. It’s like sucking on the stem of a honeysuckle flower. We used to do that as kids.

The cocoa and creaminess take charge. The body is at classic medium. Although, there seems to be discrepancies about whether this is a medium body smoke or full.

The halfway point turns into the last third. I’ve been lucky lately to smoke and review some outstanding cigars. I’m starting to write like a broken record because as of late, all of the cigars are flavor bombs. I could suck on them all day. And this is no exception.

I am now blown away by the flavor profile. This is crazy good. But, methinks, it took 6 months to get here.

I quickly read a couple reviews from reviewers I respect highly. Here is a secret. Reviewers try to outdo each other in getting their review out before others do. You do the happy dance and feel good about yourself. The problem with that is that for most of the time, the reviewer is smoking a cigar that is nowhere ready to be smoked yet. They are burning on potential only. The Torano Master Habano Maduro has been out for some time and I’m the last one on the totem pole to review it. But I bet ya’ a dollar that I am the only to taste what I’m tasting. And I cannot pish posh the reviewers who do this. There is a perceived contest which needn’t be. The only exclusive I’ve ever gotten is the Room 101 Big Delicious. I got that cigar almost two months before it was released.

It’s at the last couple inches that the power and strength moves up to full bodied. I am getting a bit light headed. I slow down. The dog is asleep and does not look in the mood to dance around the living room with me from my buzz.

I highly recommend this stick but only if you allow it to marinate in your humidor for several months. Otherwise, it’s a waste.

Damn, this is a fine stick!

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS